First thoughts

Posted: Wednesday, July 11, 2007 9:22 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: First Thoughts

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carly Zakin
*** Dear John:

The most positive way to look at yesterday's events in the McCain campaign is to assert that McCain took control of his campaign, finally. At least that's the way the "winners" of the internal power are portraying things. There was a battle between John Weaver and Rick Davis for the heart and mind of McCain, and Davis won. Why McCain lost confidence in Weaver -- and not Davis -- is unclear given that everyone in both so-called McCain camps made the same wrong assumption on how much money McCain could raise. If yesterday was bottom for John McCain's campaign, then there is light at the end of the tunnel. The question, of course, is whether yesterday was bottom. The campaign has weeks, not months, to get things back on track. Will he move to Iowa? How much does he attempt to emulate John Kerry? It's the comparison the campaign is clinging to.

*** Other Thoughts On McCain: As for the rest of the GOP field, watch for both Giuliani and Fred Thompson to almost compete for McCain's love. Both probably believe they’re the one with the best chance to win McCain's endorsement. Finally, one more closing thought: There's a Shakespearean tragic element to McCain's problems getting to the White House. Bush stopped him in 2000 as an opponent, and he stopped him again in 2007 as an ally. Perhaps the biggest incorrect assumption McCain's camp made this year was trying to emulate Bush's 2000 and 2004 campaigns. Will McCain be uttering the name "Bush" in frustration for years to come?

*** A Swift Kick…: The International Association of Fire Fighters, hardly a friend of Giuliani, unveils a 13-minute documentary video at 5:00 pm ET today that attempts to whack the former New York mayor’s 9/11 credentials. “Giuliani is running on 9/11, but the video outlines his leadership failures on 9/11,” an IAFF spokesman tells First Read. “The story is told by fire fighters, fire officers, and family members of those who died.” Does Giuliani have his own Swift Boaters now? NBC’s Doug Adams takes a look below. Also, IAFF general president Harold Schaitberger talks about the video on MSNBC’s Hardball.

*** … And A Swift Response: In a clear pre-buttal to the IAFF, the Giuliani campaign released a document yesterday listing the positive things the former mayor did for New York’s firefighters. Former NYFD commissioner Howard Safir said in a statement: “Firefighters across the country have no greater friend than Rudy Giuliani. Those of us who have worked with Rudy Giuliani know he has always been a strong and consistent supporter of firefighters and first responders. On September 11th and the days that followed Mayor Giuliani once again demonstrated his commitment to the safety and well being of our firefighters and his respect for their extraordinary courage and sacrifice.”

*** The Ick Factor: Affairs seem easy to overcome in today's political climate, but what about the frequenting of prostitutes? The Vitter news seems to raise the level of "ick," even for those who've come to expect loveable Louisiana rogues. Remember, this is an election year in Louisiana, and the last thing Republican Governor-in-waiting Bobby Jindal needs is a tarnishing of the GOP brand. Jindal's first public comments will be interesting.

*** On The Trail: Brownback makes a policy announcement while speaking to an Iowa business group; Edwards, in Las Vegas, hosts a town hall meeting with a local sheet metal workers union; Giuliani tapes a TV interview in Manchester, NH and then meets with volunteers and supporters; Huckabee makes four stops in Iowa and hosts two conference calls; Kucinich meets with the Executive Council of the American Federation of Teachers in DC; Red Sox/Yankees fan Richardson stops by the “Field of Dreams” and then makes six more stops from Iowa to Ohio to Michigan; and Tommy Thompson has coffee and donuts in Iowa.

Countdown to the Ames Straw Poll: 31 days
Countdown to MA-05 Special Election: 54 days
Countdown to LA GOV election: 101 days
Countdown to Election Day 2007: 118 days
Countdown to LA GOV run-off (if necessary): 129 days
Countdown to Iowa: 197 days
Countdown to Tsunami Tuesday: 208 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 482 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 559 days

EMAIL THIS

Comments

bobf writes: "Jenny, I would answer your question . . " - and writes a lot of other things

While bobf, where do we start with this? Apparently, rather then answer a simple question, you choose to put out a slew of personal attacks. Hey, just asking a question. You want to throw the personal attacks around, that's your business. Just challenging when somebody makes a statement like leon did. I'm not attacking leon on a personal level, who he is, or where he is from. I'm certain leon is a fine and respectable person. I just want to know why he makes a statement, and if he has some details to back it up. Is that so hard?

Paul at least gave it go - with some snarky comments - but I'm a big girl - I'll deal with it. You though thought spewing rhetoric was the way to go.

And Paul, yes those are some elements that will have to be dealt with after a war. But Paul, a generation? You are saying that it will be 2027-2037 before we recover? Please, give the military a little more credit then that.

bobf writes: "but you seem more intent on demonizing liberals."

Yeah, wouldn't want that. You libs are pure as the driven snow when is comes to the demonization game. Libs wouldn't know anything about demonization even if it slapped you on the a**, right?

bobf continues to write: "We accept all people"

No you don't. It's doubtful you can stand anyone that has a differing opinion from you.

bobf continues to write: "Jenny, do I need to dumb it down more?"

No, bobf, that will do. It looks like you were maxed out on your brain power to get that far. You have a helper-monkey or something that keys this tripe in for you?

Sorry about that last one bobf.

Jenny Malay, Red Wing MN (Sent Wednesday, July 11, 2007 4:22 PM)

Mama Mia! Lots of shape-shifters on this site today.

Desmond (Sent Wednesday, July 11, 2007 4:43 PM)

Jenny, I suggest you go back up and read who wrote what.

Paul Miller, Woodbridge, VA (Sent Wednesday, July 11, 2007 4:44 PM)

Paul, leon stated it would take a generation to rebuild the military back to where it is today. leon as of yet has elected not to answer the question I put forth (hey, people are busy). You elected to answer the question, and you mostly seemed to agree with what leon wrote, but apparently you're not really clear if you are nailed down on it taking a generation to rebuild either. Then you go into great detail why you think it will be a generation? So, where are you exactly on this issue? It seems like you want it both ways.

You also seem to mix a lot of personal items, like 'divorce rates' and 'individual internal trauma'. Certainly there is a human factor as families that have had someone that was injured or killed will have to deal with that for generations. The subject though was the military being rebuilt, not the effects the conflict has had on the current combatants. These are not items that will prevent the military from being built to pre-war levels in a timely fashion.

Jenny Malay, Red Wing MN (Sent Wednesday, July 11, 2007 5:35 PM)

Paul Miller, great explanation of the long-term effects of this debacle on our soldiers and their families. Politicians who have no problem imagining us in the ME for decades don't seem to have the forsight to realize what they are doing to our troops.

Bobf, your post had me laughing so hard I thought I would choke! Texas really does not need any more rednecks, though. With such "fine" representatives as cockroach delay, flyboy bush and can't remember diddly gonzales, we are up to our eyeballs in fools!

Lisa - Fort Worth TX (Sent Wednesday, July 11, 2007 5:50 PM)

Paul did a great job of providing a comprehensive examination of all of the related factors involved in the harm being done to the military by this war. Jenny rejects out of hand, or does not understand, the relationship between the "effects the conflict has had on the current combatants" and the overall state of the military as an institution, most likely because she does not want to accept that it will take a generation for the military to recover. That's just not the kind of happy news bush devotees are wanting to hear. There, no personal attacks or insults, and I hope it wasn't "snarky".

Scott in South Texas (Sent Wednesday, July 11, 2007 6:01 PM)

A truth squad is not a swift boat. There is a difference between an attack ad that is truthful and one that is not.

Nuanced (Sent Wednesday, July 11, 2007 6:02 PM)

It's about time McCain got out of the way so a conservative can win the nomination. Go Fred

http://www.toughfred.com

Nick - Huntsville, AL (Sent Wednesday, July 11, 2007 6:07 PM)

Jenny, it is about time someone points out a few facts about people around here. The extreme left wing is well represented here, and it takes courage to stand up against these people. This bunch blames Bush if they get lumps in their malt-t-meal.

Helper Monkeys; please, I thought I was going to bust a rib laughing at that one.

Not-Cindy Sheehan, Omaha (Sent Wednesday, July 11, 2007 6:08 PM)

Voice-of-reason Jenny, thanks for replying to PaulM. It is really doubtful that these people much care about the military, they mostly wish it to be gone. Unless its handing out food for the UN, they have no use for it. Their crocodile tears are so fake. What they really care about is using every means necessary to attack the president. Don't get too discouraged that your message is not getting through to them, they really don't care to hear it, and will demonize anyone that tries.

Keep up the good work.

Paul Bailey, OKlahoma (Sent Wednesday, July 11, 2007 6:18 PM)

Paul M...That's what I figured. I don't hear too much about the Beckhams down here in FL, so not much of a Beckham Rapture. :) However, I used to live in MD, and took in many a DC United game.

Frank "Grimey" Grimes, Springfield, USA (Sent Wednesday, July 11, 2007 9:10 PM)

Well , shiver me timbers,that 6:18 post assumed alot about me.And so it goes.

Desmond (Sent Wednesday, July 11, 2007 9:37 PM)

Jenny, It must just snark you off that Al Franken is going to be your new senator in '08. Your neighbors across the river are looking on with great amusement. Franken in '08!

mad in Madtown, Madison,WI (Sent Wednesday, July 11, 2007 10:59 PM)

<< Previous

SEND A COMMENT

PLEASE READ: All comments must be approved before appearing in the thread; time and space constraints prevent all comments from appearing. We will only approve comments that are directly related to the blog, use appropriate language and are not attacking the comments of others.

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):

Your name, city and state (John Doe, Seattle, Wash.):

Your e-mail address (jdoe@msnbc.com):

Your website (it's okay if you don't have one):

Remember me? (We'll keep it private) Remember me?

TRACKBACKS

Trackbacks are links to weblogs that reference this post. Like comments, trackbacks do not appear until approved by us. The trackback URL for this post is: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/trackback.aspx?PostID=265340